Module 8 Video Blog

1. Explain why you selected each of the three videos you choose from the selection listed above.

More Human than Human: This video was not a student choice.  It was required.

The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th Century BC:  I choose this video because I like architecture.  This video covers Greek architecture and some of the main components they used in their buildings.  This video also ties the ancient Greek world into today’s world which is interesting and adds purpose to the video as well.

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure:  I choose this video because I wanted to get a sense of the Greek art and not just the architectural side of things.  I also wanted to compare the human imagery topic between this video and the one titled “More Human than Human.”

2. For each video list/discuss the key concepts you learned.

More Human than Human:  This video deals with the image of the human body and how it has been depicted in art and in culture.  It discusses both the art world and the non-art world.  The video tries to analyze the image of the human body from the earliest art until modern times.  It starts off with the statue called the Venus of Willendorf.  This statue is 25,000 years old.  It exaggerates many features of the woman body that are associated with fertility.  The question this video attempts to answer is “Why do we enjoy looking at exaggerated images of the human body?”  The Egyptian’s have a different way of showing the human body.  They showed each part from its most visible view.  The basic understanding I got from this video is that each culture or civilization showed the human body in different ways.  They each had their own reasons for their artistic representations.        

The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th Century BC:  The first part of this video covers the history of Greece.  The historical events that were described were the catalysts for the creation of many buildings.  The video then moves into the concepts behind the architecture of the Greeks.  The Greeks had very few straight lines in their architecture.  This was done to make the buildings pleasing to the human eye.  The video also talks about the modern restoration efforts on these buildings.  The Parthenon is one of these buildings.  There are many ideas about how far the restoration should go and how much of the original building should remain.  It also talks about the Greek theatres.  The video links the politics of the time with the entertainment and discusses how the two were deeply linked.        

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure:  This video discussed the abstract sculpting that took place in the fifth century.  These sculptures did not have fine detail but relied on exaggeration of body parts to identify forms.  The sculptures then moved towards realism.  The artists tried to portray the human body as it is seen by the eye.  They wanted to make the statues look as close to the real thing as possible.  The video then discusses the ideal human body and the real human body.  The Greek art evolved from one to the other over time. 

3. How do the videos relate to the readings in the text?

More Human than Human:  This video covers many of the same items as chapter 14 in the text.  The depiction of the human body over time is described in the text in several areas.  The Venus statue, Egyptian art, and Greek depictions of the human body are covered in the text as well as the video.    

The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th Century BC:  The Acropolis is heavily covered in the video.  The text also covers the Acropolis in chapter 14 on page 336.  The video discusses the reasons behind the construction of the Parthenon and the Acropolis while the text focuses more on describing the components of each of the buildings.  The text and the video together give an encompassing view of Greek architecture from an aesthetic point of view. 

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure:  This video covers the Greek concepts of depicting the human body in sculptures.  This is similar to the topics covered in chapter 14.  The video and the text discuss the reasons that the Greeks sculpted the human body in certain manners. 

4. What is your opinion of the films? How do they add depth to understanding of the readings and art concepts?

More Human than Human:  This video was a good choice by the instructor.  It closely followed many of the key concepts that the text covered.  I think the video gave more information on the reasons that different cultures depicted the human body in different ways.  It rounded out the ideas presented in the text regarding the artistic representation of the human body. 

The Greek Awakening: Art from the 5th Century BC:  This video was a good choice to parallel the text.  The audio associated with the video was a bit sharp and the imagery was under done.  The content however was informational and was worth the time.  I actually watched some parts twice to get a good grasp on the information presented. 

The Measure of All Things: Greek Art and the Human Figure:  This video ended up covering a lot of the same topics as the first video I watched.  The information was similar but the opinions of the film makers on the subjects were a bit different.  The contrast in interpretation of the Greek sculptures and the similarities were good to see.  The informational content was enough to get a good feel for this subject.